


tea for two

by Anonymous



Category: Hana Yori Dango & Related Fandoms, Hana Yori Dango | Boys Over Flowers (Japan TV 2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, Misunderstandings, Slice of Life, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, i also may have taken liberties with sara's characterization lol, sara ships them like fedex, tsukushi only appears for a minute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26913103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Yuuki finds herself soaked in the rain when a kind stranger offers her warmth and a cup of tea.(A tea shop AU no one asked for.)
Relationships: Matsuoka Yuuki/Nishikado Soujirou
Comments: 10
Kudos: 6
Collections: Anonymous





	tea for two

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted Soujiro to do the chasing this time, haha. Not beta-ed, by the way. I also took some liberties and ran with them~

_All I think about is you  
Each falling flower petal  
Our beautiful blossom  
Everything was part of a painting  
Even though it smudged and smeared, it was beautiful  
_

_(Thinkin’ About You - Seventeen)_

* * *

Yuuki _knew_ pulling an all-nighter wasn’t the best decision she’s made.

Though she had to. The project itself was due in a couple of days and she wasn’t even halfway through with her analysis of Meiji era literature.

Honestly there are days when she questions her choice of degree program.

But no matter. She’s already bloody late anyway.

Yuuki sprints down the sidewalk to the train station, sweat trickling down her temple, huffing and puffing to keep up her pace when—

**_BAM!_ **

She runs into something firm and nearly falls on her ass but a hand grabs her arm. She looks up to thank her savior when Yuuki falters a little.

_Oh no, he’s cute._

A tall, attractive man in a dark, neatly pressed shirt looks down at her, frowning slightly.

"Are you alright?"

Yuuki feels her face heating up.

"I—uhm, well, yes. Thank you. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

The stranger gently lets go of her arm and says, "No problem." He gives her a small smile.

Yuuki smiles in return and checks her watch, eyes becoming saucers when she sees the time.

Bowing quickly and thanking the man again, Yuuki dashes off in the direction of the station.

The man's curious gaze follows Yuuki until she's out of sight.

* * *

Unfortunately today just isn't Yuuki's day.

She was late for her first class and so was assigned additional make-up work on top of what the class had been doing. And then her subsequent classes all decided to have pop quizzes one after the other with absolutely no time to breathe. She also tripped and dropped her _only_ lunch on the way to her favorite eating spot, noodles flying everywhere on the pavement. And to top it all off, in her haste to leave the apartment this morning, Yuuki had forgotten her umbrella.

Yuuki peers out of the train station at the deluge pouring outside and looks around for a safe way to get shelter from the rain. She spots an awning in front of the tea shop nearby. Yuuki hesitates for a moment.

More people start pouring into the train station as rush hour approaches, crowding the area.

_Fuck it,_ Yuuki thinks. She’s wearing a jacket anyway.

She takes off towards the awning with the plastic folder she was carrying shielding her head from the downpour, the rain beating down her back. She’s panting and shivering slightly by the time she makes it under the shelter of the shop’s awning.

Yuuki isn’t thoroughly soaked, thank goodness, but she isn’t exactly dry either. She wraps her arms around herself—folder pressed to her chest—and does her best to wait out the rain.

Yuuki’s so preoccupied with looking out at the rain that she jumps when a hand touches her shoulder.

“All that rain on you must be uncomfortable,” a deep voice says.

Yuuki’s eyes widen when she turns to face the man who broke her fall this morning.

The man, dressed in a navy blue kimono, flashes her a charming smile and lightly touches her elbow.

“Would you like to come in and warm up with a cup of tea?” he offers.

Yuuki feels her cheeks heating up and ducks her head. She nods. “Yes, please.”

The man chuckles and leads her inside by the arm. He brings Yuuki to the nearest table by a window and pulls out a chair for her. Yuuki thanks him before sitting down and the man strides to the back of the shop to retrieve something. Yuuki takes the time to drape her soaked jacket on the back of her chair and make herself comfortable.

The man returns with a hand towel and encourages Yuuki to dry off while he prepares some tea for her. He flashes her a wink and a reassuring smile before disappearing once more behind the shop.

Yuuki takes in her surroundings slowly.

The light, fresh smell of tea permeates the shop, with a small fragrantly floral note here and there. Rows upon rows of lacquered canisters decorate one part of the wall behind the counter. A variety of tea sets set within glass cases adorn yet another. Patrons are scattered across the shop, their noise but a buzz of unobtrusive hustle and bustle.

Yuuki notes that while she herself is seated in an area with modern tables and chairs, another section of the shop on an elevated area is designed in such a way for a more formal and traditional Japanese feel: low tables and cushions on tatami mats, with a rack nearby for indoor slippers. An adjoining area appears to be blocked out by a shoji screen on the far end of the shop. Hanging lamps adorn the shop, lending their warm glow.

The shop itself gives off a regal feel—possibly owing itself to the shop’s patrons.

Yuuki is shaken out of her reverie when she hears light footsteps approaching her table.

The man is back with a steaming cup of green tea and takes a seat by Yuuki, proffering the teacup to her. His fingertips lightly brush against Yuuki’s as she takes the cup from him. Yuuki thanks the man for the offered drink then blows at the steam wafting from the cup.

Yuuki takes a sip and grimaces a little.

“It’s bitter!” she exclaims.

The man chuckles. “Right?” he agrees. “Not much for tea, are you?”

Yuuki shakes her head. “I’m more of a coffee person myself,” she says as she shrugs then takes another sip of tea.

“Thank you, really. For this morning and now this,” Yuuki says while lifting the cup. Her eyes drift to the table in front of her.

“It’s nothing.” The man inclines his head. “In return, may I ask for your name?”

Yuuki looks up at the man, surprised.

“Oh, yes. I’m Matsuoka Yuuki,” she says. She smiles hesitantly while tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“Nishikado Soujiro,” the man offers with a smile.

“Nice to meet you, Nishikado-san.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Yuuki-chan.”

Yuuki furrows her brows. “Eh?”

“May I call you ‘Yuuki-chan’?” Soujiro’s charming smile never wavers.

Yuuki presses her lips together and looks up at him. She opens her mouth but before she could even utter a word someone calls out Soujiro’s name.

“Soujiro-kun! What’s taking you so long?” a distinctly feminine voice whines from one part of the tea shop.

Soujiro looks over his shoulder and replies easily, “I’ll be with you in a minute, Akane-chan!” He turns to Yuuki and leans towards her.

“Forgive me for leaving you so soon, Yuuki-chan. I’m afraid I have to attend to my other guests for now,” he tells her in a low voice. Yuuki feels her face flush again.

Yuuki shakes her head, willing her blush to go away.

“It’s no problem, Nishikado-san. You’ve done plenty enough for me today.” Flustered, Yuuki reaches for her backpack.

“I need to pay for the tea. Hold on, I’ll just––“ Yuuki says but stops at a light touch on her shoulder.

“No need to worry. It’s on me, Yuuki-chan,” Soujiro assures her. “Though I do hope to see you stop by next time.”

Soujiro gently squeezes her shoulder. He then thanks Yuuki for her company, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

_What on earth was that? “Yuuki-chan”?_ Yuuki feels her cheeks heating up even more. She shakes her head and looks to the window.

The rain’s already lifted.

All the while Yuuki gathers her things to leave, a lingering warmth is present on her shoulder.

* * *

Yuuki has never really been a tea person. Tsukushi knows this.

So what are they both doing in a tea shop? Never mind one as upscale-looking as this?

Well, they’re here now. They may as well enjoy the tea.

Meanwhile, Yuuki keeps scanning the tea shop.

“Looking for someone, Yuuki?” Tsukushi asks from across her.

Yuuki turns to face her friend with a jump.

“N-no one! No one at all, Tsukushi.” Yuuki laughs nervously.

Tsukushi squints at Yuuki, calculating. “Huh. If you say so,” she says, picking up the menu.

Following her friend’s lead Yuuki picks up her own copy of the menu. She starts looking through the extensive tea selection when raucous laughter grabs her attention from the other side of the shop.

Yuuki cranes her head a little to look over Tsukushi’s shoulder and sees Soujiro attending to a table of three young women.

Soujiro flashes the women an attractive smile while pouring them tea, nodding attentively at whatever they’re telling him. He then takes the hand of the nearest one and brushes his lips over her knuckles. Soujiro’s dark hair grazes the woman’s hand. Yuuki can’t read Soujiro’s lips as they whisper over the young woman’s hand, his eyes hardly breaking contact with the woman’s once. The woman simpers, looking pleased.

Yuuki’s heart doesn’t sink. Not a bit.

Or at least she tells herself that.

“–ki? Yuuki!” Yuuki’s head snaps to look back at Tsukushi. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay? You spaced out there for a bit.” Tsukushi furrows her brows in concern.

“Ah—yeah. Fine. Just fine.” Yuuki smiles reassuringly. “Have you chosen anything yet?”

Tsukushi nods at the menu and hums noncommittally.

“I might go with their _genmaicha [1]_,” Tsukushi replies.

“An excellent choice, I’d say,” a voice cuts in.

Yuuki turns toward the voice.

“Nishikado-san!” Yuuki beams, cheeks flushing slightly.

“Lovely to see you again, Yuuki-chan,” Soujiro greets, smiling. His gaze lingers a moment on Yuuki—a moment too long, Tsukushi notes—before turning to Tsukushi.

“Nishikado Soujiro. Welcome to my humble tea shop.” Soujiro takes Tsukushi’s hand and lightly kisses it.

“May I have the pleasure of knowing the name of Yuuki-chan’s captivating companion?” he requests.

Tsukushi frowns and pulls her hand away. “Makino Tsukushi,” she replies shortly. “Her best friend and roommate.” She narrows her eyes in suspicion at Soujiro, though he doesn’t look the least bit fazed.

“Tsukushi, he’s the one who helped me out the other day in the rain,” Yuuki explains. She smiles reassuringly at her friend.

Tsukushi raises an eyebrow skeptically.

Soujiro straightens up. “Rightly so. It would’ve been remiss of me not to invite a lady inside to warm up,” he amends, winking at Yuuki. Yuuki’s ears turn red a smidge and she fiddles with her hands. She takes a deep breath.

“I actually came here because I wanted to properly thank you for your help,” Yuuki says. She rummages in her tote bag and takes out a small, elegantly wrapped box. Soujiro eyes the package curiously.

“These are sweets from the shop Tsukushi and I work part-time at. I know they may not be much compared to what you’d probably get for your shop…” Yuuki trails off. She hands it to Soujiro and his warm fingers briefly press against hers as he takes the box.

Soujiro smiles warmly at her and shakes his head. “Nonsense, Yuuki-chan. I’m sure these would be wonderful with tea,” he assures her. Soujiro calls over a staff member and hands him the box, instructing the staff member to bring it to the back of the shop.

Soujiro returns his attention to Yuuki (and Tsukushi).

“Now, what may I get for you ladies?”

* * *

Yuuki slowly becomes a regular at the tea shop.

Though Yuuki doesn’t drop by _all_ the time, she does stop by often enough to note Soujiro’s many admirers.

Mostly women—though there are some men—intimately leaning towards him in a bid to get his attention. Bracelets and watches gleam on their wrists when they bring their hands to shield a light, coquettish laugh. The sweet sillage of florals and vanilla waft as they move with an air that make them seem untouchable to mortals.

(The smell of perfume never fails to make Yuuki’s nose itch.)

People calling for Soujiro left and right, asking him about if he’s seen so-and-so movie yet, did he want to see it with them this weekend, if Soujiro was free for drinks after hours, et cetera.

Yet with the numerous admirers that surround Soujiro he never fails to drift to Yuuki’s side when she does stop by the shop. And when she does, Soujiro does his best to introduce her to a different kind oftea every time: some much smoother on the palate than the first cup Yuuki’s had, others just as bitter but with more floral notes here and there, the list goes on.

Each time Soujiro brings Yuuki a cup of tea, Yuuki tries (and fails) to pay him back for the offered drink. After a while Yuuki gets tired of bickering with the man over the bill and starts bringing with her a box of sweets as compensation—

—or so she says but Soujiro seems to wrangle Yuuki into sharing at least one with him anyway when she does.

(Soujiro particularly likes the snow bunny shaped ones.)

Yuuki’s comfortably made herself at home at the tea shop.

Between the packed library at the university and the unnerving stillness of her apartment, Yuuki finds the shop a good place to catch up on her schoolwork. Soujiro lets her stay at a table near the back of the shop so she could study and work as much as she pleased. He’d stop by the table now and then to see if Yuuki needed anything, or if there aren’t many people asking for his attention, sit with Yuuki to chat.

There would also be rare times when Soujiro would gather his own papers from the back of the shop and go over them while Yuuki clacks away at her laptop. They’d sit in a comfortable silence together, the silence sometimes broken by their surprised laughter when they happen to look up at each other simultaneously.

(Neither will admit they were attempting to sneak a peek at the other at these moments.)

They’ve become friends—that’s as much as Yuuki is willing to admit if someone asked.

* * *

Between juggling her part-time job at the confectionery and her coursework, Yuuki’s also managed to squeeze in a bit of time for her major’s student organization. She isn’t exactly a prominent member, but she’s active enough to help out here and there.

She’s friends with the head of the organization—Sara—which is why Yuuki often gets dragged along when planning for events.

Like right now.

The planning session for one of the organization’s events happened to extend a little more than expected so Sara and Yuuki felt somewhat peckish after.

Sara suggests they hang out for a bit at the tea shop near the station.

“The sandwiches are _really_ good! I promise,” Sara says.

Yuuki’s a bit surprised at the suggestion but agrees anyway.

They’ve settled in at one of the tables when Sara suddenly jumps up from her seat.

“Jiro!” Sara exclaims while hugging Soujiro. Soujiro smiles and returns her hug.

“Hello, Sara,” he greets her warmly. Yuuki feels a pang in her chest at the familiarity.

Yuuki’s eyes become wide as saucers, looking floored. Sara, noticing her junior’s shock, chuckles lightly.

“Ah, where are my manners? This is Soujiro. He’s the owner of this tea shop,” Sara says. “Jiro, this is—“

“Yuuki-chan,” Soujiro finishes, smiling at Yuuki. His warm gaze lingers on Yuuki. Sara raises an eyebrow at the fondness in his tone.

“Have you two met?” she asks.

Yuuki smiles, nodding her head. “I met Nishikado-san when he saved me from a downpour some months ago.”

“It wouldn’t do for a lady to freeze out there. I merely invited her for a cup of tea,” Soujiro says, nodding his head at Yuuki. He looks at Sara. “Though how do _you_ know Yuuki-chan?” Soujiro’s brows furrow slightly.

“Yuuki’s my cute junior!” Sara gushes, reaching out to pinch both of Yuuki’s cheeks. Soujiro laughs at both of them.

“Senpai!” Yuuki complains. She rubs her aching cheeks.

Soujiro shakes his head fondly. “Small world, isn’t it?” Sara just laughs and leans against him, squeezing his arm.

(Maybe Yuuki’s heart sinks, just a little bit.)

Yuuki takes the opportunity to excuse herself, saying that she needed to use the restroom. She can’t help but feel her hopes dashed after seeing the fond, easy relationship between Sara and Soujiro. They must have some history together, if not already involved, and Yuuki feels a lump in her throat.

_Of course_. Why wouldn’t Nishikado-san already be spoken for? Someone as suave and attractive as him, who could resist falling for him? Yuuki certainly didn’t.

Yuuki’s breath hitches in realization.

_Oh. She likes Nishikado-san._

Yuuki recalls Soujiro charming all those elegant women at the shop, women in polished heels and the latest fashions. And then there’s Yuuki, with her too-big university sweatshirt and worn-out sneakers. Yuuki’s eyes burn with unshed tears.

Yuuki squeezes her eyes shut, willing the horrible feeling to go away.

She and Nishikado-san are just friends, after all. She couldn’t get on his level if she tried.

* * *

Once Yuuki is out of earshot, Sara turns to Soujiro with a knowing look in her eyes.

Soujiro pauses.

“What?”

“You like Yuuki,” Sara expresses simply. Soujiro’s ears burn.

“Yuuki-chan is a friend. Of course I like her.”

“Don’t pull that shit with me, Jiro. I’ve known you for years. You like her more than a friend and you know it.” Sara raises an eyebrow skeptically.

“Really. Yuuki-chan is a friend, is all. I think you’re blowing this out of proportion, Sara.” Soujiro holds his hands up to placate his childhood friend.

Sara ignores Soujiro and continues, “I love Yuuki. She’s one of my dearest juniors and is a real sweetheart. She deserves the best. _And if_ _you dare break her heart Nishikado Soujiro you are going to answer to me._ ” She glares at him. “Don’t think I don’t know your habits.”

“But I—“ Soujiro winces when Sara roughly tugs at one of his ears. “Sara!” Soujiro hisses in pain.

“I better not find out you made my favorite junior cry, you hear me Jiro?!” Sara tugs harder. Soujiro hisses again.

“Okay! I won’t! I won’t!” Soujiro hisses once Sara lets go of his ear. He rubs at it in an attempt to soothe it.

Sara flashes him an angelic smile.

“Then you have my blessing.” She winks.

Soujiro—the seductive, suave, heart-fluttering Nishikado Soujiro—actually _blushes_. His ears are practically steaming.

“It’s not like that,” Soujiro says, sounding put out. “Yuuki-chan, she’s—different.”

Sara gives him a look. “How so?”

“She isn’t one for a no feelings, no strings attached arrangement,” Soujiro explains, cheeks still stained pink.

Soujiro looks straight at Sara. His shoulders tense and he takes a sharp inhale before continuing.

“Yuuki-chan deserves so much more. So much better,” he finishes quietly, eyes turned down. “You’re right. I’ll only hurt her in the end. So it’s better this way—as friends. _Only_ friends.” Soujiro’s shoulders slump.

Sara purses her lips at the pained look in Soujiro’s eyes.

* * *

Yuuki’s visits to the tea shop become more and more sparing after her visit with Sara.

“You haven’t been stopping by as much, Yuuki-chan,” Soujiro tells Yuuki on one of her rare visits.

“Ah, it’s nothing Nishikado-san,” Yuuki would say with a nervous laugh. “My schedule’s been packed lately, that’s all. What with the foundation week preparations for the organization and drafting reports for class…you know what it’s like.” She’d then shrug off Soujiro’s concern.

Yuuki would also neglect to tell him how she’s chosen to extend late nights at the library instead, or sometimes she would stay at the chain café at the other end of the street—far away from the tea shop.

It is at one of these rare visits that Soujiro notes the heaviness of Yuuki’s demeanor, as well as the dark, purplish circles beginning to show up beneath her eyes.

He stops her from bringing out her laptop and papers with a gentle hand on her wrist.

“I understand you’ve been quite busy and that there’s a lot to do,” Soujiro gestures towards her bag, “but will you take a breather with me?” He asks her kindly.

Yuuki hesitates, biting her lip.

“There’s a new blend we’ve brought to the shop. Maybe you’d like to try it,” Soujiro coaxes her, gently squeezing her shoulder.

Yuuki sighs, relenting. “Okay. Just this once, Nishikado-san,” she warns him.

Soujiro’s answering smile is brilliant—Yuuki’s heart squeezes at the sight—and he turns to prepare a pot of tea for them to share.

* * *

Sara peeks through a meeting room door, scanning the room. Her face brightens once her eyes land on just the person she was looking for.

“Yuuki!” Sara cheerfully calls out.

Yuuki looks up from the mess of sponsorship letters scattered on the table and gives her friend a smile and a wave.

“Hi, senpai.”

Sara makes her way through the meeting room towards Yuuki, taking care not to drop the carefully-wrapped box she’s holding. Sara gently places the box on an empty spot beside Yuuki and sits next to her friend.

“Hey Yuuki, mind if I ask you a favor?” Sara gives Yuuki a kind smile. She gestures towards the box.

“My mother needed me to give this to Jiro today but something came up so I won’t make it to the tea shop in time later,” Sara says. She then presses both hands together and gives Yuuki a pleading look. “Would it be okay with you to drop it off at the tea shop after class?”

“I—senpai—,” Yuuki starts.

“ _Please_ , Yuuki? Mama said it needs to get to him by today. I’ll treat you to something as thanks tomorrow, I promise!”

Yuuki blows her bangs out of her face and turns to her senior with a small smile.

“Alright, senpai,” she says. Yuuki tucks the box carefully into her bag. “I’ll do my best to get this to Nishikado-san in one piece.”

“Thanks a million Yuuki! You’re a lifesaver!”

* * *

Yuuki is still a distance away from the tea shop when she spots Soujiro waiting outside.

_Did Sara-senpai tell him I was coming?_ Yuuki wonders. Her heart lightens at the thought.

Yuuki is about to approach Soujiro when someone calls out, “Soujiro-kun!”

An attractive young woman in a flowy dress and coat walks up to Soujiro, smiling. She puts a hand on Soujiro’s arm as he turns to her slightly. Her mouth moves as she says something to Soujiro, her hand lightly skimming down from his elbow to take his hand. Soujiro slowly leans down to the woman and—

Yuuki turns and runs. Her breath hitches and her throat tightens while her feet pound on the pavement. Yuuki’s head feels cottony, buzzing with static and blocking everything else from her senses. Her legs don’t stop and she doesn’t register anything except for the loud slamming of her apartment door, snapping her to attention. When did she get home? The apartment is quiet except for Yuuki’s hitching, unsteady breaths.

Yuuki feels something wet dripping down her face. Oh? Yuuki is crying. She didn’t notice she was crying.

A cocktail of emotions toil in Yuuki’s heart. Confusion, bewilderment, anger, betrayal…

She doesn’t know if she feels betrayed for Sara or for herself.

Wait.

Sara—the box. Yuuki completely forgot about the box Sara asked her to deliver to Soujiro. Yuuki realizes she’s been holding it in a death grip this entire time. She blinks back her tears and loosens her grip, unsteadily setting the box aside on a nearby table.

She’ll have to return it to Sara tomorrow at school.

* * *

Yuuki avoids the tea shop completely.

Sometimes she chooses to take her work to the library, staying until the last minute before closing time. There are times when she’s so engrossed in her work that she startles when the librarian comes by to tell her the library is about to close.

Other times Yuuki ends up at the café down the street. The smell of roasted coffee beans and toasty, baked pastries feel a tad too foreign to her nose, but she endures it. The café is slightly busier than the tea shop and there isn’t always a solo table available for her to work on. At one point she ends up sharing a table with other people. They don’t mind her working and Yuuki could just block them out with her headphones, so she makes do.

Yuuki brings her work to her apartment with Tsukushi, to the campus quad, the park, the corner convenience store, anywhere and everywhere except the tea shop near the train station.

The day after the incident Yuuki returns the package she was supposed to give Soujiro back to Sara with a shaky smile, saying he was busy when she passed by and that she’s sorry she couldn’t have given it immediately. Sara had looked at her in concern at the time, patting her head saying it’s fine and that she understands. Did something happen? Sara asks, taking the box. Did Yuuki want to talk about it?

Yuuki shakes her head. She musters her best smile and reassures her friend that she is fine, she just feels tired. Sara purses her lips and looks like she wants to say something else, but holds back and tells Yuuki to rest for the day instead.

Deep down, Yuuki is conflicted whether or not to tell her senior what she saw. She doesn’t know how Sara will react. Tension lines Yuuki’s shoulders when she thinks about it. She’s scared. She really doesn’t want to be the one to break the bad news.

How do you tell someone their boyfriend is seeing other women?

Meanwhile, Sara is furious. She explicitly told Soujiro not to break Yuuki’s heart, so what the hell did that bastard do to her favorite junior?

Soujiro idly wonders why Yuuki hasn’t come around to the shop lately when the shop doors open abruptly and Sara comes storming in. Her soles briskly tap on the floor and she stops in front of Soujiro across the counter.

“Nishikado Soujiro,” Sara says curtly. “We need to talk.”

* * *

Soujiro _misses_ Yuuki. It’s been weeks since he’s last seen her.

Soujiro brushes away the thoughts the first few days at first, thinking that Yuuki is probably busy with schoolwork and other matters. When the days turned into weeks, however, Soujiro feels at a loss. Yuuki didn’t exactly give her contact information to him, so it’s not as if he could text her and ask if she’s okay. And after the dressing-down Sara gave him yesterday Soujiro is pretty sure Sara wouldn’t give it to him even if he begged on his knees.

Every day Soujiro’s eyes dart towards the shop door whenever a new customer comes in. His heart sinks a little each time at the absence of a familiar sweet smile and deep brown eyes.

He pushes the gradually sinking feeling to the back of his mind and goes about his daily business as usual. The customers themselves don’t point it out directly, but the concern on their faces when Soujiro serves them says a lot. _Soujiro-kun looks distracted lately._ They whisper among themselves. _He has this faraway look in his eyes even when he drops by our table._ One of his older patrons was so concerned that she returns with a basket of fruit the next day, thrusts it into Soujiro’s arms and tells him to _eat more fruit Nishikado-kun—you’ve been looking quite tired these days. The vitamins should perk you right back up._

Then one day while Soujiro arranges the shop display near the front, he notices a familiar profile and flash of dark hair briskly walking past the shop windows.

He doesn’t need to look twice to know it’s Yuuki.

Soujiro drops what he’s doing and bursts out the front door, calling out, “Yuuki!”

Yuuki jolts in surprise and looks behind herself for a split second before making a mad dash for the train station.

Soujiro breaks into a run. Yuuki does her best to run faster, but Soujiro’s long strides are no match for Yuuki’s shorter ones and he catches up to her effortlessly. Soujiro grabs Yuuki by the arm. She tries pulling away but Soujiro refuses to let go.

“Yuuki,” he begins, then pauses. Soujiro doesn’t know where to start, feeling quite out of his element.

Yuuki doesn’t look at him at first. Her eyes are stubbornly trained on the ground. Only the sound of her heavy, labored breaths from running can be heard between them.

“Please, Yuuki,” Soujiro begs. “Talk to me.” _Look at me. Come back to me._

Yuuki shuts her eyes tight and takes a deep breath.

“Okay,” she says at last. She looks up at him. “But not here.”

* * *

Yuuki and Soujiro end up going to one of the back rooms of the tea shop, the door clicking shut behind them. Yuuki quietly makes herself comfortable on one of the available chairs. Soujiro follows suit, the chair screeching a little as it scrapes the floor.

The air feels stifling in the room, heavy between the two people. Soujiro swallows, unsure of what to say.

It’s Yuuki who breaks the silence.

“Does senpai know?” Her tone is hard and direct. Soujiro looks up at her quizzically.

“Know what?” he asks, confused.

“That you’re seeing other women,” Yuuki clarifies.

There’s a brief pause before Soujiro answers.

“…Yes she does.”

“And she’s okay with it?”

Soujiro sighs. “She put up with it for a long time,” he says.

Yuuki narrows her eyes in disgust and frowns.

“Sara-senpai doesn’t deserve to ‘put up’ with anything,” she says, her voice firm. “She seems to really like you! But if you have an arrangement with each other then that is your business and not mine.” Yuuki gets up to leave.

Soujiro is quick to hold her arm. “Wait,” he says. “What did you mean by ‘an arrangement with each other’?”

Yuuki stares at him in disbelief.

“An arrangement between you and Sara-senpai for you to date other people,” Yuuki says slowly. Her brows furrow slightly.

Soujiro drops Yuuki’s arm and covers his face with his hands. He takes a slow, deep breath before letting out a strained chuckle.

“I’m not dating Sara.”

Yuuki freezes and her eyes widen.

“So she broke up with you after all?” she says in surprise.

Soujiro looks up at Yuuki then shakes his head.

“No, I never dated her. We’re childhood friends. She’s the closest thing to a sister I have.”

Yuuki purses her lips then says, “You…aren’t dating.”

“No,” Soujiro repeats. “Sara is actually seeing someone from another university. They met at a mixer, I think.” He looks at Yuuki carefully.

Her face flushes a deep red in mortification all of a sudden.

“A…ah. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to presume…” Yuuki apologizes quietly. She looks away from Soujiro and fidgets with her hands.

Large hands take hold of her smaller ones. Yuuki tightens her grip briefly and looks up at Soujiro in surprise. She quickly lets go of his hands. Soujiro gives her a small, hopeful smile.

“Was that what upset you?”

It takes Yuuki a moment to answer. She exhales sharply.

“Well, it _is_ rather jarring to see someone you thought your friend was dating kiss another girl, after all.”

Yuuki smiles wryly and continues, “How could I tell Sara-senpai, ‘Oh, hey senpai I know you sent me to drop this thing off to the guy you’re dating but then I saw him with another woman’?”

Soujiro’s smile widens. “Ah, but she _isn’t_ dating me,” he says triumphantly.

“Well I know that _now_ ,” Yuuki retorts. She gives a small chuckle.

A beat. “So the other day,” Soujiro starts casually, “Sara came barging in demanding to know why you were so upset.” He leans towards Yuuki.

“She’s really protective of you too, you know?” Soujiro quietly tells her. His low voice sends a slight shiver up Yuuki’s spine. He pats Yuuki’s head lightly then pulls away, smiling warmly at her. Yuuki can’t help but smile back.

“So. Tea?” Soujiro nods his head towards the door.

“Yes, please.”

* * *

Yuuki started going back to the tea shop again and things are the same and yet not all at once.

Soujiro, for one, has been getting into Yuuki’s space a lot more lately. Yuuki knows that Soujiro’s always been a touchy person, doling out casual touches to her arm, patting her head and all that, but she can’t help but think it feels nice.

Sometimes he’d casually brush his fingers against hers while handing her a cup of tea. Other times, he’d be shoulder-to-shoulder working alongside her in his downtime.

And once…

“How’s the honey toast, Yuuki-chan?” Soujiro smiles softly at her before his face quickly changes to that of concern.

“Ah, you have a bit of…” He leans closer to Yuuki, wiping a bit of whipped cream off her cheek. His thumb lingers a little on her face. Yuuki’s face flushes at his closeness and the warmth of his hand on her cheek.

(Is it just Yuuki, or does the teahouse feel a bit too warm right now?)

Sara, on the other hand, has taken to bringing work with her to the tea shop too. Well, okay, half of it is actual work—some of which Yuuki needs to work on as well for the school org—and the other half is keeping an eye on Soujiro and making sure he’s being good to her friend.

(Honestly, Sara does not want to see that heartbroken look on Yuuki’s face ever again.)

And if Sara makes sure all her belongings fill up her side of the booth ensuring that Soujiro sits in the opposite side next to Yuuki, then that is only for her to know. Sara looks up from her work at the two people sitting opposite her, Soujiro and Yuuki both laughing together about something, and she shakes her head fondly while going back to writing her paper.

* * *

“So. When are you gonna do it?” Sara asks one day with her hand on her hip cocked to one side.

Soujiro blinks at her. “Do what?” he tosses back, head tilting slightly.

“Ask Yuuki out.” It’s only the years of his uppity, formal upbringing that hold Soujiro back from spitting his tea out.

“I beg your pardon?” Soujiro says. He puts down his teacup with a _clack_ and gives Sara an incredulous look. Sara levels an unimpressed look right back.

“Deny it all you want, Jiro, but there’s only so much I can take watching both of you dance around each other like this,” Sara answers. She shakes her head before continuing, “Do you even want this to go somewhere? I know you’ve said you’re content being friends before. Do you still want that now?” Sara looks at Soujiro critically.

Soujiro looks away and doesn’t respond for a long moment. His hands tighten on the teacup he’s holding and he takes a deep breath.

“I…don’t know what I want anymore, Sara. I don’t even know if I’m _allowed_ to want anything more.” Soujiro stares down at the teacup in front of him, refusing to look up at Sara.

Sara sighs, squeezes his shoulder, then drags a nearby chair to sit on.

“You’re not a bad man, Jiro,” Sara reassures him. “And you and Yuuki aren’t your parents, either.” She puts an arm around Soujiro’s shoulders and gives him a comforting squeeze.

* * *

It’s a blustery fall day, the rich reds, golden yellows, and bright oranges of the trees rustle in the wind. Yuuki steps out of her faculty building and feels the cool air on her face when she spots Soujiro just outside. The man appears to be lost in thought.

Huh, he must be looking for Sara or something, Yuuki supposes. She makes her way towards Soujiro.

“Ah, Nishikado-san!” Yuuki calls out, waving a hand at him. Soujiro looks up at Yuuki's voice, shaken out of his reverie.

“What are you doing here? Sara-senpai’s class ends in a couple of hours so you’re probably better off waiting inside somewhere else…” Yuuki trails off. She looks at Soujiro expectantly, expression open with a small smile.

Soujiro smiles nervously at her. “I’m…here for you, actually,” he replies.

“You…you are? Did you need something from me, Nishikado-san?” Yuuki asks. Her earnest smile fills Soujiro with warmth. _She’s beautiful,_ he thinks.

Soujiro’s so distracted by his thoughts (and Yuuki’s loveliness) that when he remembers her question he quickly replies, “Ah—I, food?” The words he’s so carefully prepared for this moment just disappear.

“Food?” Yuuki repeats.

“Yes, food! Let’s dinner some food? I mean, would you like to date for a dinner? I, agh…” The words tumble out of Soujiro’s mouth one after the other. His ears turn slightly pink.

Yuuki giggles at how flustered he is. It’s funny how the usually smooth-talking Nishikado-san is groping for words right now.

“Nishikado-san, would you like to have dinner with me?” Yuuki says, beaming. Her cheeks are flushed prettily, Soujiro notes. He can’t help but smile back and sigh.

“You took the words right out of my mouth, Yuuki-chan. Yes, I would love to,” Soujiro answers, eyes never looking away from Yuuki.

Yuuki just smiles wider and presses a kiss to Soujiro’s cheek. Soujiro feels his face burn as he takes Yuuki’s hands and places a reverent kiss to her fingertips, eyes closing momentarily.

“Shall we go?” Soujiro says at last.

“Let’s go, Nishikado-san.”

* * *

Yuuki is on her dining table typing away at her laptop when she feels a sudden warmth on her face. She looks up to see Soujiro pressing a cup of tea to her cheek, balancing a tea set on a tray with his other hand. He chuckles at Yuuki’s raised eyebrow as she takes the cup from him.

“Thank you, Jiro-kun,” Yuuki says, setting the cup beside a pile of cream-colored envelopes. Soujiro strokes her hair with his free hand as he puts the tray down.

“Anything for you,” he says. Soujiro presses warm lips to Yuuki’s forehead, catching her off-guard.

Yuuki’s face suddenly goes bright red and warm at the contact. Soujiro gazes into her eyes and chuckles lightly. He catches a stray lock of hair near her face and gently twines it in his fingers.

“Still so shy, Yuuki, even after all this time?” he teases. Soujiro doesn’t look away, the warmth of his breath teasing Yuuki’s lips as he touches their foreheads together. From here Yuuki can catch the citrusy musk of Soujiro’s perfume. Yuuki blushes harder, speechless, and then she pushes herself away from him. She can feel the blood rushing in her ears and she covers her face in her hands. It’s a halfhearted attempt to calm down, but Yuuki’s just too overwhelmed.

“Jiro-kun, I was working!” she complains. Soujiro just chuckles again before pulling Yuuki’s hands away from her face. He busses a kiss to Yuuki’s nose, her cheeks, and then finally catches her lips in a lingering, warm kiss.

Yuuki’s expression is dazed when they part and Soujiro can’t help but steal one more peck from her lips.

“How adorable of my lovely Yuuki,” he says. Yuuki pinches his side and Soujiro just laughs. He nods his head towards the table. A dark blue teacup rimmed with gold sits next to Yuuki’s workspace, and a matching one rests on the tray next to a teapot, waiting to be filled with tea.

“But first, tea,” Soujiro’s tone brooks no argument.

Yuuki nods at him and smiles. “Okay, Jiro-kun,” she says, picks up the teapot and fills Soujiro’s cup.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This was written on a whim and also just for fun, lol. Written mostly because I wanted to see these two cute, fluffy and gross together over tea, hahahahaha.
> 
> [1] **genmaicha** (玄米茶): Also known as roasted rice tea, this is a Japanese green tea with roasted, popped brown rice.


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